UPPER EAST SIDE — A local leader who has thrown his political weight behind an Assemblyman's quest to win a heated City Council race has announced his candidacy to replace him.
David Menegon, president of the Lenox Hill Democratic Club, announced last week that he was throwing his hat hat in the ring for the 76th District Assembly seat in next year's election.
Micah Kellner, whom the club endorsed, currently holds the Assembly seat. He is is running for Jessica Lappin's City Council seat.
Though Menegon's campaign is still in its early stages, it is already poised to shake up neighborhood politics.
Menegon said he still supports Kellner — but the onetime City Council hopeful would not go so far as to say that he'd drop out of the race if his political ally ran for reelection.
"We all anticipate that Micah Kellner's going to win," he said. "If I didn't think Micah Kellner was going to win City Council, I never would have started the campaign."
Kellner's campaign declined comment on Menegon's candidacy.
Campaign contribution information for his Assembly bid was not immediately available.
Menegon, 50, is a 20-year Xerox executive and 28-veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves, where he holds the rank of colonel.
"I think I acquired a lot of skills in my life," said Menegon, who quietly announced his candidacy in the 2014 race via e-mail a week ago. "I've risked my life twice in Iraq to give strangers hope. It would be an honor to go to Albany and help the people in my own community, my own neighbors."
Because so much of the work he did during his two tours in Iraq were development-based — such as infrastructure or public finance — Menegon believes he's ready to tackle Upper East Side's hot topics such as the marine transfer station, lack of open space, and air quality concerns associated with the Second Avenue Subway.
In addition, he wants to see New York run entirely on renewable energy by 2030, he said.
Also part of Menegon's platform: securing affordable housing for seniors and protecting veterans.
"I want to make sure that our young service men and women have access to the resources and health care benefits they're entitled to," he said.
